Ratings for They’re Watching, vary wildly. For a low-budget found-footage style film in the cheesy movies section, the title is rated at 5.6/10 on IMBd.com. Casting for They’re Watching boasts Brigid Brannagh who most will know from one show or another. Mother of Movies remembers Brannagh from Supernatural TV Series where she played Ruth. In addition, cast members seem to be from Crime shows like CSI and NCIS, but most have a good acting background. The “They’re Watching” cast includes David Alpay, Kris Lemche (Ginger Snaps 2000), Carrie Genzel, Mia Marcon, and Dimitri Diatchenko.
They’re Watching 2016 Storyline
They’re watching feels a bit like Jeruzalem (2015) crossed with The Conspiracy (2012.) It starts with a bunch of people who host a show called Home Hunters Global and they’ve traveled to Europe to check in on a house that’s been renovated. Becky is from California and bought the house with her boyfriend, a famous soccer player. Once the television crew returns to the small religious town, they discover that not everything is as it seems.
Overall Summary for They’re Watching Movie Review
I had issues with this one from the get-go. A lot of footage films are slow to start and this one is too. Between the dialogue and the odd array of events to paste the story together, what you’re left with is a slow burn with not enough of a payoff to create any sort of suspense or tension.
The writers themselves describe the “They’re Watching” movie as “a workplace comedy that goes horribly wrong” not a horror movie. There is not a lot of overt comedy to speak of, however. Instead, this title consists of extremely understated horror.
“They’re Watching” Movie
Looking back on They’re Watching and viewing it as a comedy film does make a little more sense when thinking about certain scenes. Things like host, Kate, stumbling upon a bunch of villagers in the surrounding forest. She deems them to be fans or extras even though they appear from behind trees brandishing axes. I could see how this could be seen as mildly amusing.
It’s a shame though that Kate’s personality as a hard-ass producer comes through so strongly that I simply found it irritating that she seemed to be clueless one minute and in control of handling communications with local law enforcement the next.
Tongue in Cheek Horror
The trouble starts in They’re Watching when a few members of the crew go on a bit of a tour of the local surroundings. It’s here they stumble onto a gathering going into a church. Despite being told there are no cameras allowed, they enter and begin filming. Once inside, they quickly discover the congregation is holding a funeral for some children and are exposed when a speaker hasn’t been switched off squawks. This draws attention to the now angry mob but somehow doesn’t teach its well-traveled camera crew anything new.
The group in They’re Watching gets visited by random people from here, who tell them to go home and appear aggressive towards them in most scenes. Somehow the motley group of television stars smooths tensions over. They are later enjoying some downtime in a bar with locals. Of course, their guide Vladimir begins teaching them random Romanian words which they yell out to the amusement of others. After mostly insulting each other in a foreign language, Mia yells out ‘witch’ in Romanian which is both weird and confusing. This is not viewed favorably by fellow village drunkards and they quickly make a hustled getaway.
The performances by the characters are all pretty good, mostly due to the prior well-seasoned roles of the cast. This didn’t save They’re Watching for me though, and I found my attention waning more and more as the film progressed. There are some whacky special effects to look forward to in the third act but this still didn’t make the finale worth the wait.
Can This Cheesy Movie Be Enjoyed With Wine?
The best way to go into this one is with the required cheese-tinted glasses I was not wearing.
They’re Watching is rated
2.5 useless backstories out of 5
Best Served Cold Productions + Scatena & Rosner Films
The budget for the movie was an estimated $1.75 million and was filmed in Romania. It was written and directed by Jay Lender and Micah Wright. Oddly, Lender’s previous films are cartoons and he previously directed Sponge Bob SquarePants and Phineas and Ferb.
What’s more, shouldn’t all cheesy movies be enjoyed with wine? I think so. It didn’t help me here, but this film can be enjoyed by a wide variety of audiences that enjoy this type of flat cheesy humor. It made me think of a film I reviewed a while back called Don’t Kill It. This film probably isn’t as good as that, but it’s just as campy.
